Lee shook her head with a small smile as she saw Tarin bouncing in place now. They’d just run what, three-ish miles after he’d only had about a half night’s sleep, and he still had that kind of energy?

Then Tarin asked about going back to the shop, and Lee nodded before starting to walk again. ”The eggs wouldn’t go bad for a while, but that’s a good idea to check the fridge. Learned that one the hard way myself.”

Had she heard from Rachel about when they were coming back? Not as of when Tarin had woken up. So Lee pulled out her phone to check. ”No, not yet,” she replied as she tucked her phone away again. ”Considering she’s doing me a favour, it’s too early to call her still. I doubt they’d already be on a plane without telling me, so I’ll give her a call after we eat.”

As Tarin finished speaking, Lee tilted her head to look at him. ”Where did you learn so much about bruises?” she asked, though there was a slightly teasing tone to her voice. ”But alright, I’ll put some ice on it when we get to the shop.”

Tarin nodded his head and let Lee take the lead as they started walking. There wasn’t much to say as none of it really had much to do with him. ”We should exchange numbers at some point though.”

As to why he knew so much about bruises. Tarin took a couple beats to consider just how thoroughly he wanted to answer Lee’s question. She’d been very open with him about so many things in the last 24 hours. He owed her more than a lie.

”That’s part of the not so nice story I mentioned.” he said candidly and with a sigh, looking around at the beautiful day that was really starting to come into its own. ”Let’s just say that it was important for me to know how to take care of myself.” It was still hard to actually talk about even though it had been a very long time. If Lee wanted more, he’d tell her more, he owed her that much and it might help her understand why he was the way he was.

”That…Yeah, that would probably be a smart idea,” Lee replied. She obviously knew where the shop was, and she had to assume that Tarin could get to her apartment at this point, but it would be good to actually be able to reach each other if needed. ”Keys too,” Lee added as she thought. ”I can’t remember if I actually have a spare key still in the apartment. We may need to get one cut.”

Lee hadn’t intended for the conversation to take a negative turn. ”Well, I think by now you know I can handle and understand whatever may have happened in this story,” Lee said softly. ”But when you’re ready. I know some of the things I’ve told you, I wouldn’t have been able to five years ago.”

By this time, they were making their way out of the park and back onto the street toward the shop. ”Surprisingly, I don’t have to deal with bruises too often, even when I’m going to the gym regularly. The guys always go too easy when we spar, and I haven’t found the balance between holding back so I don’t hurt someone and using enough of my powers so that they have to give it their all…”

Logistics. Tarin had never had a roommate before, so as Lee started listing things off he started making a mental list of the things he needed to do.

Lee pointed out that she didn’t have to deal with too many bruises because the guys she sparred with always pulled their punches and Tarin mused over the problem. He could see both sides of the problem. Even if her powers made her fast and strong, it didn’t seem like they made her any more resistant to injury than the average person. ”Maybe you’re just sparring with the wrong people” he said, not entirely sure if there was a better answer.

As for the story, Tarin considered taking Lee up on her offer to wait and share at a different time. What he had to say about all of that definitely wasn’t any worse than what Lee already knew about him. So he shrugged as they made their way towards the shop.

“The group of people I fell in with when I first came to New York were very good at staying off the radar.” He said, glancing towards Lee as they approached the shop and unlocked the door. It was cool and dim inside and the atmosphere seemed to fit the story better than the beautiful day outside.

“They had very strict rules about what you had to do to be a part of the group and what you had to do to stay a part of the group. Anonymity was the most important thing. SUPER was good at following leads and flushing out entire groups based on information they got from the mutants they picked up.”

Tarin paused for a moment as more specific memories surfaced, then shook his head and continued.

“It wasn’t uncommon for a single person to lead to a dozen getting caught. You pretty much never saw them again if that happened unless it was down the line and they were helping to round up others.”

They’d never figured out exactly how that had worked, how SUPER had been able to flip mutants to their side. Or why it always seemed to be psychics who showed back up.

“We moved around a lot to make sure that nothing ever got too routine or obvious, but everyone had to pull their weight.” Some more than others…but that hadn’t been obvious until later.

“Like I said, anonymity was key. Anything that could expose you, or the group, had to be completely under control before you could be trusted to come and go. If you couldn’t come and go, you couldn’t pull your weight, and there were no loose ends. You couldn’t just decide to leave.” Tarin trailed off there for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts.

“You got one chance to stay or go, before you knew enough to be dangerous. If you decided to stay there were…things you had to do to prove you weren’t a liability. They couldn’t have kids out there losing control of their powers because they were losing a fight, or got hurt, or lost their temper.”

Tarin trailed off, leaning against the wall, arms crossed as he shrugged, “We all helped each other out as much as we could after the various tests, but one of the other rules was that we weren’t supposed to get too close to each other.”

Lee shrugged when Tarin suggested that she might be sparring with the wrong person. ”That very well could be,” she replied. ”It’s not like they’re not skilled. I’ve actually sat down and watched a couple of their MMA matches. But they tend to get upset when I ask them if they’ve ever been in a real fight.” As she finished speaking, Lee couldn’t help the small laugh.

As they got to the shop, Tarin started going into his story. He was right, it was not a good one. After getting inside, Lee stood silently as she leaned against the counter listening to him. And, based on what he had told her about SUPER on his side of the rift, it made sense to work together to stay off the radar, to keep people from noticing any of you. But the rules that this group apparently had sounded extremely harsh.

”...and there were no loose ends. You couldn’t just decide to leave.”

Lee’s eyes widened at this. So that was why he had been so insistent on getting the knife back from her the other night? Because he thought that he was a ‘loose end’ or a ‘liability’ that needed to be dealt with? And Lee remembered that Tarin had left home for New York at just 14, said he’d found a group to join that helped him survive the city and SUPER shortly after getting there. Finding out more about how this group had ‘helped’ him, Lee’s heart broke a bit for the man standing in front of her and the childhood that had been ripped away from him even more than for most mutants.

Eventually, Tarin finished speaking, and Lee stood there for another moment just thinking about what she had heard.

”I obviously don't know for sure how they could get people to work for them like that,” she finally whispered. ”But pain can easily make people believe things. Given enough pain, for long enough…it can change how you think, what you do…” Just the pain from the collar over a month had been enough to get her to not willingly touch another person for six months. If someone had a purpose in mind while the torture was happening…Unfortunately, she could understand why some of the mutants that SUPER took had been turned.

She took a deep breath as she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat before she looked up at Tarin again. She hadn’t even realized that her eyes had dropped to the floor.

”So you couldn’t leave the group, but you couldn’t have relationships either?” she ended up asking. Sure, she’d only had three, but that was because of her mutation and what she’d thought was possible for her. But how could a group of young people not end up with relationships between themselves, regardless of what the rules said?

”And what kind of tests would there have been that you would need help after they were over?”

“Given enough pain, for long enough…it can change how you think, what you do.”

Tarin nodded, making eye contact with Lee once again, “Anything to make it stop.” It made him so sad that she’d learned the same lesson.

Lee had more questions, and Tarin nodded his head, “Relationships need drama. Caused people to fight and compete. It wasn’t good for anyone.” He said, “It’s also what ultimately brought the whole thing down.”

As for the tests, Tarin sighed and let his head fall back against the wall.

“They were different for everyone. You spent the first couple of weeks in the constant company of one of the higher ups. You stayed inside and they learned about you and your powers” That part made sense, even today. The group had needed to know what they were dealing with.

“Everyone had to show that they could take a beating without losing control of their powers. Couldn’t risk exposure if you got jumped or mugged in the street. That was only bad for a few days.”

Tarin could still remember his turn, and the days after.

“Then came all sorts of training. They had pretty much every kind of power represented so they were able to teach things that helped.”

He paused again, gathering his thoughts, “Once they knew what triggered you came the exposure training.”

It still made him sweat a little to think about it, and his crossed arms tightened a little bit, “You asked if I was claustrophobic?” He said, “I was as a kid…my brothers had shut me in a feed bin and I got stuck when I was real little…all my exposure training included tight spaces.”

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

“Closets, boxes, toy chests, car trunks…different amounts of time, different times of day. With or without warning. Up to and including the night I spent the night in a mausoleum in Marble Cemetery.”

It had been the worst night of his life, but he’d done it. “It turned out there were things I was way more scared of than tight spaces.” He said with a sad little smile at Lee.

“Above all, if you ever lost control in public or got caught. You ended the threat immediately, with no hesitation.”

One more deep breath.

“I saw it happen so many times. Kids make mistakes.”

Relationships caused drama. Drama brought attention. Lee did understand that. Not from personal experience, but she had seen drama at the bar, even out on the street, too many times to count. It made sense.

It was also a little ridiculous that a group of teens and young people were supposed to avoid all relationships.

That was not the shocking part, Lee quickly learned. As she listened to Tarin speak, her mouth hung very slightly open in shock as anger started to bubble under the surface. Yes, it could potentially be bad if someone couldn’t control their powers and they were mugged or something. Or if they could control them but got angry or scared enough to use them. But that did not give this group the right to beat children. Tarin, and who knew how many others, had just been kids when this happened to them.

And that wasn’t the worst of it.

As Tarin continued, talking about how they had locked him in various small spaces because he had been claustrophobic, Lee’s outrage at this group climbed. And they had done it without warning, without consent.

”Up to and including the night I spent the night in a mausoleum in Marble Cemetery.”

Lee’s jaw dropped as an absolutely horrified expression appeared on her face. ”They did WHAT??!?” Lee screeched.

She started pacing across the shop, not even hearing what else Tarin had to say. ”Did they have any idea how ****ing dangerous that was?!? What could have happened??”. As she paced, the horror that Lee was feeling and that was visible on her face was being replaced by rage.

”What if a spirit had been able to force a merge?” Lee continued, glancing over at Tarin periodically as she paced back and forth. ”Who knows what that could have done? What the spirit could have wanted. You could have gotten yourself stuck out of your body.

“That wasn’t just dangerous for you, or for them. That could have been dangerous for the entire city. If a full merge had been triggered, all they’d have to do is touch you, and god only knows what could have happened. And they just locked you in there for the entire night?!?”

Lee’s horror, anger, and outrage over what these people had done to Tarin had not faded, likely wouldn’t for quite a while, but the outburst had just about run its course. ”Were any of them here when the rift closed?” she asked, finally stopping her pacing to turn and look at Tarin. ”Where are they?”

Well. Lee had strong feelings. Very strong feelings about the way he had been trained.

Tarin let her react, keeping a mental tab on the questions she was asking. He could tell by the look on her face…and the profanity laced tirade that she disagreed with the methods that had been employed.

That was okay. Once he’d known better, he had too.

Lee asked if any of them had come through the rift and Tarin had to smile, “Planning to hunt them down?” He asked.

“As for your other questions…if any of those things had happened, the problem would have taken care of itself. The point was that before we were put in real world situations we had already dealt with the worst things possible. If we couldn’t handle it…” he shrugged.

“Like I said, it all fell apart on its own. Those of us lucky enough to escape all of that had skills…messed up as they were, to survive. None of the leadership made it out.”

“Planning to hunt them down?”

“If they're here? You're damn right I am,” Lee replied. Of course she would. She'd dealt with more dangerous people who had done less before.

But Tarin continued, telling her that they'd done it so Tarin, and the other kids in the group, had already ‘dealt with the worst’. Lee just shook her head. That was no excuse.

And that apparently the leadership, the people who had done these reprehensible things, hadn't made it out when things ‘fell apart.’

“So they're dead?” Lee asked for clarification. “Or they were captured and hauled off?” Because there was a huge difference between the two, and Lee needed to know.

“But it doesn't matter how bad a situation is,” Lee continued, her voice quieter now, almost tired sounding. “Even if it's the worst possible thing you can imagine, the universe can come along and prove that things can get worse…”

“If they're here? You're damn right I am,”

Tarin believed her with every fiber of his being.

“As far as I know they’re all dead. There was a fire. I never saw any of them again in the 15-16 years I was there before I crossed over”

”But it doesn't matter how bad a situation is. Even if it's the worst possible thing you can imagine, the universe can come along and prove that things can get worse…”

Tarin nodded his head, that was the voice of a person who knew something for a fact. He was not in any position to argue.

“Or, sometimes they can get better.” He said instead, “Sometimes you can learn things or meet people and things can get better.”

He smiled again, just a little bit, “Sometimes you’re in a place and you know that it’s rock bottom, and someone comes along to show you that it’s not.”

There had been a fire and Tarin hadn't seen any of them in almost two decades. Well…that was something at least. She wouldn't have to hunt those horrible excuses for people down.

That…that was good. Lee took a few slow, deep breaths with her eyes closed as she listened to Tarin again. And when she opened them, she saw him smiling a bit.

“Or at least that you can climb out from rock bottom?” she asked, giving him a very slight smile as well. “That you're not stuck there.”

“Something like that.” He said with a shrug, pushing off the wall and moving into the kitchenette to rummage around in the fridge, and then the freezer. The dishes still needed doing, and he was going to need a shower…but first.

“Water?” Tarin said, offering the bottle to Lee, then nodded towards her shoulder as he tossed the bag of frozen peas in his hand a couple of times to break them apart.

“Why don’t you take a seat and let me see just how bad it is?”

Lee took another deep breath as Tarin started toward the back of the shop. She normally didn't get anywhere close to today angry, but with what she heard…

After that extra breath, Lee followed into the back, gladly taking the bottle. And as she was taking a sip, Tarin asked to take a look at her bruise.

This…this went against how she had lived for the last 15 plus years. But, she had told him that she'd try to let him help her through this as well, and it had been difficult to get a good look in the mirror.

“Alright,” she finally said, though it was a little reluctantly. Setting her bottle down on the counter, Lee unzipped her hoodie before sliding it off.

From the front, some bruising was visible on both arms, as well as scabbing on her left arm where the splinters from the chair had been. Her eyes dropping to the floor a moment before she turned to sit in the chair.

From the back, the sight was much worse. The right shoulder and shoulder blade area had the large black and blue bruise that Tarin had already seen. The left side was also bruised, though it wasn't quite as dark and was only about half the size. Which was still rather large.

Lee unzipped and removed her hoodie and Tarin frowned, the look deepening to a scowl as his eyes moved across the fronts of her arms and the bruises that were there.

Moving behind her, the scowl deepened further and he let out a low whistle at the black and blue splotches that extended pretty much across the entirety of her back that he could see. “I don’t know how you’re moving, let alone running three miles like this.” Tarin said, shaking his head again at what he’d helped happen.

“Be right back. We’re going to need more peas.” He said, making his way back to the fridge and then the bathroom to grab one more thing before making his way back.

”If it’s okay with you I’d like to use this…” he said, holding up one of those rolled elastic bandages, “to hold these on for a while.” He said, hefting the two bags of peas.

Even before she had turned, Tarin did not seem happy with what he saw of her injury. The front was the good side. And that’s why she hadn’t told him about it until he accidentally saw the bruising.

“I don’t know how you’re moving, let alone running three miles like this.”

Lee shrugged her left shoulder as Tarin went back to the fridge. Did he actually have that many peas in his freezer? ”I just…am?” She said quietly as he made his way to the bathroom next. ”It’s not like it’s an old nail in the shoulder or a knife in the side…”

But then Tarin was back with an elastic bandage in addition to the peas. That was probably a very good idea, actually. That was a big reason she hadn’t iced her shoulders as much as she probably should have; it had been too difficult to get the ice pack in place and keep it there to do any good. ”Yeah, go ahead,” she told him. Then she closed her eyes as she sat there, resigning herself to getting Tarin’s help. She hated feeling incapable of taking care of things herself.